


Bookstores are cool, okay?!

by fandomfix



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Pre-Slash, Tumblr Prompt, drabble ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomfix/pseuds/fandomfix
Summary: Joe is not a klutz. But the owner of the bookstore is just so lovely, and maybe Joe just gets a bit distracted sometimes...
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 5
Kudos: 126





	Bookstores are cool, okay?!

**Author's Note:**

> from the fantastic [spacewitchqueen](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/spacewitchqueen)'s prompt:  
> "Hi! For the AU/Trope/Prompt thing: bookstore!au/meet messy/“i don’t even think i want to know.” for joenicky?"
> 
> Now I'd never written this ship in my life, but fortunately, i was in the mood to take everything as a challenge, so here we are. That being said, it's probably a bit ooc so please be gentle, but i hope you like it!

Joe didn’t know why he kept coming back to this little bookstore, hidden in the back of an alley off the main road. It was much too embarrassing.

Sometimes he wondered if it was all some terrible fever dream. If the ordeal that was his first encounter with the store was nothing more than a nightmare. When he’d first told Andy about _the incident_ , she’d stared at him for entirely too long before turning away and calling him something extremely rude.

He knew she’d been joking, knew she only thought it was ridiculous how flustered he was by a place that should have seemed sacred to him. But he wouldn’t deny that he’d thought of screaming at her.

After all, most bookstores probably didn’t have gorgeous owners in them, gorgeous owners who must think Joe was the stupidest man on earth.

Let it be known that Joe was not clumsy. He was not imbecilic or unaware of his surroundings. He did love poetry and spoke about it too often. Maybe he had almost walked into people on a busy street while getting too wrapped up in the way that music could color the world.

And maybe he’d seen a glance of the gorgeous owner through the window of the store and immediately started thinking about how he’d like to draw him. Construct his lines on paper so that he could see him even after Joe got too busy to show up here.

And maybe he hadn’t seen the rather large display of books stacked up inside the doorway of the shop.

No, he’d stepped inside, heard the faint tremolo of a bell ringing, and seen how lean and lovely the owner was as he glanced up from his book. Then immediately walked into the display, knocking it and himself over.

He’d seen the surprise and horror on the other man’s wonderous face, as Joe rushed to try and sort through the mess. He’d asked if Joe was alright, and the soft accented voice caused him to slip yet again, taking all his attempts at reconstruction back down with him.

This hadn’t been the only such encounter.

Joe should stop going there. Nicky—he’d learned his name when he shamefully approached the counter that first day—must think him a fool. Even though he never seemed angry. Even though his eyes seemed to lighten when he’d see Joe enter. Even if a small smile seemed to grace his lips the moment he’d look up from whatever he was doing to greet Joe.

Still, he knew Nicky thought he was an idiot.

It got so bad that he dragged Andy along with him one day, in a desperate hope that her mere presence would prove he wasn’t completely incapable. He knew Nicky thought nothing of him, but he still wanted to seem better in his eyes.

They’d walked in, and Joe stumbled over his own feet. Nicky glanced up, a smile already on his lips, but then it dropped and his eyes narrowed at the sight of them.

Andy stared at the whole scene, and huffed out a laugh at Nicky’s face. Without glancing at Joe, she turned back to the door. She walked out chuckling, only muttering “I don’t even think I want to know” as she strolled away.

Before Joe could consider joining her, he felt a strong, gentle hand steadying him.

“Who was that?”

He looked away from the closing door, back into the lovely face before him.

His only saving grace in all these encounters had been that he never seemed to lose his words around Nicky. Thank _someone_ for small favors.

“That was just Andy.”

Nicky stared at him, his hand still gripping Joe’s arm. The fingers seemed to tense, but his focus was still on Joe, his eyes soft as he looked at him.

“Just Andy?”

Joe glanced down where the hand still rested, a tentative smile forming on his lips and he saw Nicky’s eyes dart down to them and then back up.

There might be a chance Nicky didn’t think him a _complete_ simpleton.

He stepped slightly closer, that hand seeming to pull him in as well. As he lifted his own hand, a dangerous hope welled up inside. When he made contact with Nicky's shoulder, he heard the other man's breath catch. No, Nicky might think more highly of him than he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> if you think i should continue this, or just want me to keep writing these two, drop me an ask on [my tumblr](https://fandomfix8.tumblr.com) or just come say hey on [my tweeters](https://twitter.com/fandomfix8)


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